Saturday night in Utah, the Vancouver Whitecaps looked a little bit more like themselves, as they overran a Real Salt Lake team in freefall by a score of 3-0.

Certainly, the Whitecaps were facing a team in very poor form, with perhaps even lower confidence levels and a whole host of injuries, but nonetheless, I think there were some moments in this match that the Whitecaps should feel very good about.

Most importantly, Vancouver’s attack had some natural flow in the final third, and the combinations between Brian White and Yadaly Diaby, with help from the likes of Oliver Larraz and Thomas Müller, had Vancouver playing some of their most incisive and clinical attacking football in recent weeks.

This started inside 10 minutes for Vancouver, as following a couple of chances in front of goal, the ball was recycled to Larraz at the edge of the area, and the midfielder played in a driving ball. Brian White, in classic poacher fashion, made a clever run and used his body to glance the ball into the goal and past Rafael Cabral.

The real gem of the night, though, came in the 29th minute for the Whitecaps. After they cleanly and swiftly moved the ball through midfield, White made a clever dummy, leaving the ball for Diaby, who sprayed it wide to a wide-open Müller. The German smashed it home into the top corner at the near post. This was the nicest team goal I can remember Vancouver scoring in a while, and it was especially encouraging to see that kind of movement and combination play in the final third.

With the visitors up two goals, it was clear that Salt Lake was reeling, and they were probably just happy to get things to halftime down two goals. The home side did come out a little sharper to open the second half, with some early pressure. Salt Lake’s best look of the night came in the 54th minute, as after some pinball following a corner kick, Sergi Solans’s shot was partially blocked by Mathias Laborda before striking the post and heading out of play.

This was a bit of a wake-up call for Vancouver to lock back in and lean forward in the chair, as it were. Vancouver really upped their pressure and pressing over the next 10 minutes and were rewarded with their third goal. Brian White forced an errant pass out of the back for RSL, and Yadaly Diaby took the opportunity to stride confidently to the edge of the area before lashing a shot into the side netting at the far post, truly putting the match out of reach at that stage.

From there, the intensity of the match dropped quite significantly, though Ryan Gauld was introduced for Vancouver and had a couple of nice moments, including taking a volley on his weak foot which clattered off the crossbar. Otherwise, it was just a very solid and professional performance without much to complain about for the blue and white.

Thinking a little bit about the themes from this one, I thought it was very noticeable how much of a calming presence Ralph Priso brought to the backline. The way he is able to step through pressure or play a firm back-pass to Takaoka in order to relieve pressure really makes a difference in subtle moments. For example, he made a quick step and play-switching outlet pass that sparked Vancouver’s second goal. Great stuff.

Equally, I have to give Diaby his flowers. He was not super busy on the ball, but when he was involved, his actions were clinical, and he shows a polish that I don’t think Vancouver had at the position prior to bringing him in.

Finally, Oliver Larraz continues to grow on me. Yes, he’s unlikely to smash home a thunderous strike from 30 yards, but we also didn’t have to talk at any point about how the Whitecaps missed Andrés Cubas in this match, and that’s a big shift unto itself. Equally, I’m rather certain he has more technical ability than he’s getting credit for. His ball to White for the first goal was tremendous, and we do see flashes of his dead-ball ability. Watch out for more to come there.

Going forward, the Whitecaps will be thankful for a break midweek prior to their home game against DC United next weekend. With many players going away on international duty, this was a good opportunity to scoop some points, especially with four of the next five teams below them failing to keep pace this weekend.